Eating along the B line: 5 delicious meals and snacks under $5 on the Upper West Side

By RACHEL WHARTON

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS|

Oct 24, 2017 | 11:39 AM

A BLT at Andy’s Deli on the Upper West Side. (Rachel Wharton)

Visitors to the B Train station at 81st St.-Museum of Natural History already know affordable eats are scarce in this part of the Upper West Side, unless you grab a couple of hot dogs from a Central Park vendor. Even at the hipster food truck parked just outside the museum, you won't find anything for less than $7. So we scoured the nabe to find five truly delicious items for $5 or less.

Brown bag it

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There's a reason New Yorkers love bodegas, and it's because of corner stores like Andy's Deli. The best — like Andy's, just across the street from the Museum of Natural History — are the go-to spot not just for eggs, milk, and bread but sandwiches any time of day. There are several options at Andy's for less than $5, including the hamburger, tuna salad, and an excellent BLT with still-crisp bacon, a real ripe tomato and several layers of crunchy iceberg lettuce.

Andy's Deli: 418 Columbus Ave., at W. 80th St., (212) 799-3355

Fill it up

Jelly doughnuts are filled to order at the Upper West Side outpost of Orwasher’s Bakery. (Rachel Wharton)

If there's a better jelly doughnut in this city than the one at the Upper West Side outpost of 100-year-old Orwasher's Bakery, we haven't tasted it. Topped with sugar or chocolate icing, they are softer than pillows and filled as you watch with any flavor you like of locally sourced jam from Beth's Farm Kitchen. Sour cherry and chocolate-iced? Blueberry and sugar-topped? You decide. They're $4.25 each. As for watching the bakers at work in the glassed-in kitchen behind the counter — that's free.

Orwasher's Bakery: 440 Amsterdam Ave., at W. 81st St., (646) 461-7929

The crunchy corn shell beef taco from The Great Burrito. (Rachel Wharton)

Taco night

There's only one item on the menu at The Great Burrito that's less than $5, and it's the tacos, which come on soft or hard shells in flavors as diverse as jalapeno and potato, or chicken mole. But it's hard to resist the old-school Americana delight ($4.50) of seasoned ground beef served with lettuce, tomato and jack cheese on double-stacked crunchy corn shells. For an extra $5, pair it with chips and salsa or a side of guac.

You won't find a grass-fed steak for less than $5 at beautiful White Gold Butchers, British chef April Bloomfield's Uptown butcher shop/cafe/restaurant. But you can stave off hunger in one satisfyingly meaty way: $5 (plus 44 cents tax) buys you a flaky pastry-wrapped sausage roll. It's like the U.K. version of a pig-in-a-blanket, served with a side of stone-ground artisanal mustard. For breakfast, there's also a $5 egg and cheese, which you can get with Bloomfield's bacon, sausage, or ham for an extra $3.

Luckily you can buy one of Levain Bakery's famously soft, famously oversized cookies for $4, but there are other worthy deals here as well. For $3, you can get a perfect French baguette slathered with butter and jam, wrapped up in waxed paper to go. And for $3.50, there are rolls drizzled with dark Valrhona chocolate.